The FIFA Puskas Award nominees were announced this week (see here) and while of course there are some great finishes in the running for the award won by Brazilian wonder-kid Neymar last year we felt there was some quite notable admissions from the shortlist. Therefore we have devised our very own Alternative Puskas Award to have a look at ten of the best that were not nominated.

You will definitely have seen some of them and probably not seen others so let us know what you think of our ten nominees.

This goal won’t make many peoples lists of the best in 2012 but I absolutely love it. It is a pure strikers goal; power, persistence and panache combine as he stays onside by inches shows great control on either foot bustles defenders out of the way and finishes with a deft lob. Only Falcao.

Both goals were pretty special in this league fixture with Huddersfield but the latter backheel finish has to be appreciated. He hasn’t scored a goal since however.

7. Jesus ‘Chiki’ Meza - March 18th

You would be forgiven for thinking the diminutive midfielder is Lionel Messi in disguise based on the goal he scored for Caracas in March but the Venezuelan internationals superb solo goal was all his own doing and was the best of this kind in 2012.

The Puskas Award apparently weighs its goals heavily on importance. Well this acrobatic finish sealed a 3-1 win over Marseille and effectively propelled Montpellier to the Ligue 1 title for the first time in history.

This one came a bit late for the FIFA nominations so we will let them off but this sensational acute angle volley from Brazilian Taison has got the internet purring with discussion. Better than Van Basten? You decide.

It is as if Zlatan wanted to make a mockery of the Puskas Award with his goal against England. Open goal or not to score an acrobatic overhead from this distance and angle should be impossible. Marvellous.

Probably the absence from the Puskas Award that baffled me the most as Papiss Cisse’s strike against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge has to be one of the best Premier League goals of all time. Interestingly Hatem Ben Arfa’s individual run and finish did make the shortlist.

So what are your thoughts … and can anyone think of the best team goal in the past year as there is notably none in our top ten and that is a travesty considering some of the great passing goals of the past.

Mathew Nash

I’m Mathew Nash a 27 year old graduate in Sports Studies and I have an insatiable love for sport. With a particularly keen interest for the madcap world of football I have always been known amongst friends as a beacon for bizarre sporting trivia and knowledge. My other passion is for writing and hopefully combining the two will create a superb and entertaining marriage that will create, divide and share opinion.Mathew is a correspondent for the NextGen Series, Ligue 1 and Primeira Liga.